In the second talk of this year’s “What Matters to Me and Why” series in Old Union on Wednesday afternoon, Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School M. Elizabeth Magill emphasized the importance of facts, the pursuit of knowledge and gratitude.

Magill discussed problems with today’s political climate in the larger context of history, expressing optimism despite new challenges of the contemporary era.

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“Facts matter to me a lot,” she said. “As someone with training as a lawyer and as a student of legal systems, I think I have a particular perspective on the importance of testing and establishing facts and what happens when we go wrong with that.”

Magill also addressed the problems of partisan divisions exacerbated by the rise of fake news.

“Whether we can establish facts anymore and whether we can agree on them is, of course, is a topic of a lot of hand-wringing today,” she said.

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“I think we should all be deeply shaken by this threat [of uncertainty over facts],” she said. “If we can’t establish test and agree on facts, our capacity to generate knowledge will be degraded.”

Despite the threat of fake news and polarization, Magill expressed faith that the problem can be addressed when placed in the greater context of historical events.